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<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe US may stop aid payments to Palestinians who are \u201cno longer willing to talk peace\u201d, President Trump said.<\/p>\n
On Twitter, Mr Trump said the United States received \u201cno appreciation or respect\u201d in return for its aid.<\/p>\n
He also said his controversial recognition of the contested city of Jerusalem as Israel\u2019s capital took the hugely divisive issue \u201coff the table\u201d for new peace talks.<\/p>\n
Palestinians had said the move showed the US could not be a neutral broker.<\/p>\n
Soon after Washington\u2019s decision was announced in December, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he would not accept any US peace plan for the Middle East.<\/p>\n
The decision on Jerusalem was also overwhelmingly condemned at the United Nations, where 128 countries voted against Mr Trump\u2019s fulfilment of a campaign promise.<\/p>\n
The US president was following up earlier comments about aid payments to Pakistan, in which he said the US had received only \u201clies and deceit\u201d in exchange for billions of dollars in aid.<\/p>\n
Jerusalem is one of the world\u2019s most contested sites.<\/p>\n
Israel claims the whole of the city as its capital. The Palestinians want East Jerusalem, occupied by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war, to be the capital of a future Palestinian state.<\/p>\n
Mr Trump, however, decided to formally recognise Jerusalem as Israel\u2019s capital, despite being warned it could cause unrest in the region.<\/p>\n
He also said he would move the US embassy there from Tel Aviv, where all other nations have their consulates.<\/p>\n
For the Palestinians, Mr Abbas said: \u201cThe United States has proven to be a dishonest mediator in the peace process.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also called Jerusalem the \u201ceternal capital of the state of Palestine\u201d.<\/p>\n
How did the Palestinians respond to Mr Trump\u2019s threat to cut aid?<\/h2>\n
Angrily. A Twitter feed of the governing Palestine Liberation Organisation accused Mr Trump of sabotaging their \u201csearch for peace\u201d.<\/p>\n
What kind of aid does the US send to Palestinians?<\/h2>\n
Mr Trump\u2019s tweets followed remarks from Nikki Haley, the US envoy to the United Nations, in which she said the US would stop contributing to the UN\u2019s relief agency for Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n
The agency runs education, health, and social programmes. The United States is its largest governmental donor, handing over almost $370m (\u00a3270m) in 2016.<\/p>\n
Speaking at a news conference, Ms Haley said: \u201cThe president has basically said that he doesn\u2019t want to give any additional funding, or stop funding, until the Palestinians are agreeing to come back to the negotiation table.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said the UN\u2019s vote to condemn Mr Trump\u2019s Jerusalem decision was \u201cnot helpful to the situation\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Palestinians now have to show their will that they want to come to the table. As of now, they\u2019re not coming to the table but they asked for aid.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not giving the aid, we\u2019re going to make sure that they come to the table,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The withdrawal of aid is likely to have a significant impact on the UN agency\u2019s work, as the US contributes almost 30% of its overall funding.<\/p>\n
In 2016, the second-largest donor, the European Union, donated less than half as much as the US.<\/p>\n
Source: BBC<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"Homepage](\"https:\/\/ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Telesol-ad.jpg\")
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